Category: Blog

In a recent move away from potentially-toxic conventional products, I started using a shampoo bar and citric acid rinse. Originally, I wanted to try the no-poo method, but didn’t want to endure the transition—nothing like having sticky hair at work for a month, eh? After a little research to find a daily-use alternative, I discovered the wonderful world of shampoo bars and I’m seriously digging them!

First of all, I love that they can last for a long time if they’re kept dry. The inexpensive unscented bar that I love (bonus: it has minimal packaging) lasts for about a month.

Natural oils don’t typically play well with hard water minerals and can leave hair feeling a little greasy. Using an acidic rinse in areas with hard water typically does the trick. We have extremely hard water in Minneapolis, so I increased the level of acidity in my rinse to make my hair soft. If a shampoo bar is leaving your hair on the sticky-side, a stronger acidic rinse might help.

I make my acidic rinse with 2-3 teaspoons of powdered citric acid, which can be purchased from the bulk aisle of some health food stores and smells lightly of lemons, and about 8oz. of water. I mix it up in a glass spray bottle and use a couple sprays after rinsing the lather out.

A good indicator that I’ve used enough rinse is when my hair becomes less tangly and a little slippery (but not slimy like conventional conditioners), and as soon as my hair dries it’s soft and bouncy.

Traveling

Traveling is super easy and light with shampoo bars. I just toss the leftover shampoo bar bits and a little container of citric acid into a reused Altoids tin and they’re ready to go. Once I arrive, I mix up the citric acid in a cup of water. It’s a great way to use up remaining shampoo bar pieces.

Minimal

I really enjoy the open visual space in my shower since the little bar replaced big bottles of shampoo and conditioner and the citric acid rinse looks so pretty in its spray bottle. And, since I’m no longer concerned about shine or volume, I ditched some of my styling products which freed up storage space under my sink.

For me, this was an all-around win—zero-waste, low-tox, beautiful, and minimal! Would love to know if you’ve tried this method and what your experience was with it!

My husband and I aren’t huge game people, but we like to keep a few on-hand that keep us busy on slow winter evenings and are fun to play with friends.

I grew tired of feeling like our games were consuming too much visual and physical space since the boxes were bulky and brightly colored. We also had other hobbies that needed to more storage room, like craft supplies and photography equipment. I started toying with the idea of getting rid of the games all together. But, I think that would have been a bad idea since there’s just no replacement for a good, solid game. Sometimes getting rid of a portion of something and keeping the part that means the most can be super effective on its own.

So instead of getting rid of them, I removed the bulky packaging and fit them all in one cute little box. We did something similar with most of our DVD collection by recycling the cases and fitting the disks in a smaller leather case.

I think we bought these little photo boxes from Michaels for $2 a piece and they’ve been the perfect size for fitting things like our games, receipts, and even Nerf guns (something else that occupies us during the winter. Also, I have a surprisingly good Nerf shot).

The caveat here is that we don’t play games that often. Some people love games and their collection might require a whole closet, and that’s ok! Minimalism or simple-living isn’t necessarily about living “without”. It’s about simplifying or removing the excess so that the things that bring the most life, joy, and necessity can be prioritized with more of our mental faculties.

Sometimes thinking outside the box (like totally ditching the bulky boxes) goes a long way to providing just a little more brain power to something more worthwhile!